COUP D’ETAT IN HONDURAS

HONDURAS AND THE INTERAMERICAN SYSTEM

NEW POLITICALSCENARIO FOR AND IN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

FOR Latin American countries

IN Latin American countries

Dimensions of thesearchfor a new developmentpatternFirst time in Latin American historywhere a combination of

factorscouldappeartogether.

Economy– Sustainedgrowth and diversifiedinsertion in theworldeconomiccircuits

Social inclusion - Publicpoliciesaimedtoequalopportunitiesforthepopulation as a whole

Democracy - Strengthening of democraticpractices and procedures

Differencesbetween “north” and “south” LatinAmerica NorthernLatinAme

rica

Their agenda ishighlyinfluencedbythe U.S.

Most of themhadsignedFTAswiththe U.S.

Remittancedependence, highlevels of emigration, highdependency on the fate of recipient countries

SouthernLatinAmerica

Their agenda has a broaderlevel of integrationamongthemselves

Few of themhadsignedFTAswiththe U.S., most of them belong to South American regional structures (MERCOSUR, CAN),

UNASUR as anattempttobuildbroaderlevels of autonomy.

Relevance of Democracy in Latin America

Decade ‘70 Decade ’80 (firsthalf)

Relevance of democracy in LatinAmerica

Decade ’80 (secondhalf)Decade ’90

DURINGDICTATORSHIPS IN LATINAMERICATHOUSANDS OF PEOPLEWEREARRESTED, TORTURED AND MURDERED. MOST OF THOSERESPONSIBLEHAVENOTBEENJUDGED. HUMANRIGHTSWEREVIOLATED AND FREEDOM OF SPEECHWASTAKENAWAY. JOURNALISTSHAVEBECOMETHEMAIN TARGET IN HONDURAS, WESHALLNOT LOOK AWAY.

Relevance of Democracy in LatinAmerica

Whathappened in Honduras? Honduras suferred a coupd’Etat, a crack of

theinstitutionalorder. What are theytryingtoinstitutesincetheevents of june 2009 and whatprecedentdoesitleave?Thetheory of benevolentcoups.

Themilitary actor interveneswithouttakingoverthepoliticalpowerbutenablingananticipatedchange of government. Thisalsoenablestheelimination of certainpolitical figures fromthepoliticalscenario.

Venezuela’s 2002 coup d’ Etatwas a clearprecedent of thistype of practice.

DEMOCRACYShould a populist leader be kicked out of office even though he got elected in popular elections?

Is there a double standard when it comes to accepting “uncomforable” leaders?

DEMOCRACY

Defendingdemocracy

Sincethesecondhalf of the ’80s, LatinAmerica has become, alongwithEurope, U.S.A. and Canada, a regionthatpursueseconomicdevelopmentwithin a democraticframe.

The USA and Europehavetheobligation of defending and cooperatingwithdemocracy in LatinAmerica.

The USA hadseveraltoolstopressure Honduras and decidednotto use them.

Furthermore, most of South American countrieshavebeenleftalone in thedefense of democracy.

Countriesthat do notrecognizetheHondureangovernment

A yearlater, western worldfacedwiththe new Hondureangovernment

Futureexpectations

Honduras certainlywillnotbeexcludedforlifefromtheInteramericanSystem.

Thereincorporationcannotbe done onthebasis of a “moveon” policy.

Actorsinvolved in thecoupmustbejudged and punished.

Zelaya mustbeallowedtoreturntohis country, enjoying full rights.

Honduras mustcompromisewiththe full respect of HumanRights and politicalfreedoms.